The value of doing your homework is a hard lesson to learn. Homework is hard. Homework is boring. And anyways, that question will NEVER come up on the test…
Even in an era where most of the legwork is done with the click of a few buttons it wouldn’t appear that the ease (and speed) of being able to do homework has made it any more palatable. But it can be surprising what you find if you take the time to look for it. OK Google...
An example of this situation was recently highlighted when Genel Energy plc (LSE: GENL) announced a large reserve downgrade on its Taq Taq field in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. The Taq Taq field has had a surprisingly long history in the public eye having been owned (or almost owned) by a number of public oil companies. While reserve estimation is an inexact science (just ask Shell…) – the data that does exist suggests that investors should have done a little bit more homework.